Does God scrapbook?

I've just about finished getting the scrap-stuff organized in our schoolroom/craft room. It's taken a while because the girls see me go in there and they just HAVE to follow me, because me getting out my scrapbook supplies and the finished stuff seems to beckon a look-through session. They love, as do I, to look through old photos and read the stories about each picture or event. Especially the ones that preceded them; considering there's a twelve-year gap between Kelsey and Morgan, there was a LOT of living that preceded the little girls. They're just fascinated to look and see what life was like before they arrived in our family. Quite frankly, that's one of the main reasons I've taken on scrapbooking. Besides it being a wonderful creative outlet, my scrapbooks tell a story when I can't be there to tell it myself, and I hope that the pages I've chronicled will live on for generations, telling stories of what things were like for our little (haha!) family.

Listening to Christmas music and putting away scrapbooks got me to thinking...do you think God has a scrapbook for us to look at once we get to heaven? I really hope so, because there are a LOT of things I'd like to see. I'd just love to see God-pictures of the newborn baby Jesus and the manger scene, or what that basket that baby Moses was put in looked like, because my modern-day American brain thinks of baskets as being not exactly seaworthy vessels! I would love to actually set my eyes on Eden, to see what glorious perfection Adam and Eve lived in before sin infected the world; I want to know what Peter, James, and John saw on the mount of transfiguration. I would love to look into the ark--wouldn't you?

Then again....maybe a scrapbook wouldn't be a good thing. Too many tears for God to dry, because we would be far more aware of just how LOST most of the world is....when we're in heaven, it'll all be over--no more second chances, no more arguing about what "truth" is, no more false doctrine....it will all be done away with. Maybe we just won't want to see the day Cain killed Abel; we won't want to view all the faces of those in Sodom and Gomorreh.....or San Diego, or Milwaukee, or Mobile, or anywhere else. Too much to handle.

What do you think? What do you want to see in heaven's scrapbook???

Simple Woman's Daybook, 12/21/2009

For Today… December 21, 2009
Outside my window... it is dark. I got a "late" start on blogging today, obviously. We were supposed to have clouds moving in, but I can actually see some very bright stars, so where those clouds have gone...your guess is as good as mine!
I am thinking... that I really should get started on wrapping the closet full of presents, but...I also REALLY need to get some rest. My body is not happy with me for letting myself get this tired.
I am wearing... jeans, my "I hate orange" Crimson Tide t-shirt, and socks.
I am thankful for... having all of the children home for the holidays; we will not be so fortunate next year, when we have our oldest oceans away in Afghanistan. Sigh...military life has some pretty depressing downsides.
I am remembering... when our older two were littler and life was so much less complicated. New changes, new phases, new challenges. Also remembering my sweet great-grandmother, who passed from this life seventeen years ago next month. Tomorrow is (it seems odd to say "would have been") her birthday. I still miss you, Mamaw!
I am going... to take a bubble bath and go to bed. Still a few days, the wrapping can wait.
On my mind... a thousand things, all at once. This time of the day is not the best for blogging, it seems!
Noticing that... it is so much more peaceful around here when the schedule is followed and things get DONE. Ah, order brings peace.
Pondering these words... "What is your life? It is but a vapor."
From the kitchen… lingers the smell of pizza. Tomorrow, Jon's favorite--country fried steak, mashed potatoes, and gravy.
Around the house... we're littered with remnants of Bible class craft projects (a regular Monday thing) and unpacking continuing here and there. The girls are all tucked into bed, Monday Night Football is playing in the background, and Pete is sitting next to me on his computer searching job listings. He starts his outprocessing next week for his retirement! WOAH!!!
One of my favorite things: family. Having all of us in one place. Missing the extended family, but there's just not much we can do about that right now. Anyone wanna buy my parents' house so we can move them up to Huntsville?
A few plans for the rest of the week: making cookies, hanging pictures, wrapping presents, installing closet organizers, building gingerbread houses....intertwining the everyday with the holidays.
From my picture journal... the girls making "tile angels" on the kitchen floor! Oh, the impromptu stuff little girls come up with! There truly is never a dull moment around here!

Many thanks to Peggy for hosting The Simple Woman's Daybook! Wishing each of you a wonderful Christmas full of all of the good gifts our Father can bless you with! Love and best wishes from our house to yours!

It's *almost* a smile, Grandma!!!

It may not be hard to get Kasey Lee to smile, but to catch it on camera??? Whew, it's easier to get Congress to agree to a pay cut! I know, Grandma, she's the only one you don't have a picture of with a big 'ole grin....I'm working on getting those Santa pics scanned, 'cause I PROMISE, there's a big Kasey grin to show you....but in the meantime, how's this? Not a full grin, but she just is faster than my fingers, I guess. You can, however, make out those long, stringy brown bangs of hers! Kid almost needs a haircut!

Soo.....did it pass?

Some pics of the new digs

First, a little disclaimer....things are not fully "done". K? There's still a ton of decorating to do and a lot of our stuff is not in it's for-good spot. We're getting a lot of it in working order, however, and I know that as far as my mom's concerned, it simply will not do to wait too much longer to see the new house. So...here's a few rooms to browse through. First up, our living room. Notice, Mom, that there's one of those pretty green valances you had stored away on our window. A big picture window like that is just too pretty to cover with curtains, but we needed something...so a valance and sheers it is! The other (identical) valances are on the kitchen window and dining room windows too, and I'm thinking we may end up carrying the lightish green paint color we plan on for the dining room into the living room. All in time. This pic captures our first-of-the-morning chaos, but in this space it just doesn't seem all that bad!

Here's the dining room....the dark room, the cold room. Even with full morning sun (this is an eastern-facing room), it's still dark and not-so-welcoming. You'll notice that the green valance is barely visible!? That will be changing just as soon as I can get my hands on a paintbrush, I assure you!

View of the girls' bedroom from the doorway (off the kitchen). Those are Morgan's and Jamie's beds, still with the same bedding they've had on their beds for quite some time. We've placed the Little Tykes easel and play table up against that support pole that Shelby's head seemed to be magnetically attracted to, but despite how it looks, there is still about a two-foot space to walk in between the chunky toys and the beds.

This is taken from the right corner in the previous picture; between Morgan's bed and the wall, looking out toward the front of the house. The spare washer/dryer set is in the far right--notice it's not really in the way, just taking up a corner over there that hopefully will be ours again once the guy from Craigslist comes to get them.

Same vantage point as before, camera aimed off to the left a bit. Shelby's and Dani's beds are diagonally across the room from Morgan's and Jamie's. Still plenty of room to rearrange a bit when we need to put the crib in there.

A close-up of Dani's and Shelby's beds...just 'cause I am absolutely in love with the cuteness. Plus, Elmo and Kai-Lan look so peaceful taking naps, don't you think? By the way, those are Ty Beanies filling that basket at the foot of Shelby's bed....sad how "collector's" items suddenly turn into a preschooler's favorite carry-around-the-house toys in the blink of an eye, but hey, they're more useful now than they ever were on the shelves in Kelsey's rooms all those years!

Taken from the corner where the washer/dryer are sitting waiting for Craigslist guy. That's the laundry alcove behind the louvered doors, and the kitchen in the doorless entry. That lack of a door may eventually be a problem as the girls get older, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there; right now it's one less thing to slam fingers in!

Just for the sake of cuteness....apparently Kasey felt lonely watching Dora on her belly?

One room down, how many left?

It took a day longer than anticipated (doesn't it always?), but the girls' room is DONE. Okay, maybe not ALL the way done....there's an unfinished closet that kind of hinders clothes being hung up, but the dressers are filled, the toys are put in their respective "homes", and the floor...well, you can SEE it! The only problem is the extra washer/dryer set is sitting in the corner of their bedroom. Weird, no? Hey, I suppose that's a testament to how large this room really is...they aren't in the way in the slightest! I really wish I could find our pet net doohickey so I can get the stuffed critters off of the washer/dryer where they're hanging out.

Pictures? Tomorrow. Girls are asleep. I should be too. Later, all you blogaholics!

Simple Woman's Daybook 12/7/2009

FOR TODAY, December 7, 2009...
Outside my window... it is gray and cold, but memories of the blanket of snow we awoke to on Saturday morning are still fresh in my mind, and it is just absolutely wonderful to look out and see property that is "ours" (on loan from God, anyway!) finally after so many years of sharing walls and backyards with other military families! I need to track down Kelsey's SD card from her digital camera, since she's the only one who got pictures of our little snow blanket!
I am thinking... that we are just SO blessed, it's overwhelming at times.
I am thankful for... a husband who has worked 20 years to put down roots in a place we both love. It's not been easy, but the transition out of Army life is going so smoothly that it's just not going to be much of a big deal at all!
From the kitchen... by Morgan's request, we will have loaded baked potatoes tonight, with caesar salad for the big folk and fresh veggie dippers for the littles.
I am wearing... a gray tee and my Jimmie Johnson pj pants. I didn't quite see the point in getting all dressed up just to unpack! LOL
I am creating... order. FINALLY, we're getting some order in this disaster zone. It's looking less like a box factory exploded and more like a HOME, thank goodness!
I am going... to get the girls' room done today if I have to spend my last waking moment doing it!
I am reading... not much of anything other than the sides of boxes at the moment!
I am hoping... to get the house "done" enough to get the Christmas tree up and decorated this week....here's hoping, because that may be all I do!
I am hearing... Morgan and Jamie (backdropped by The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe playing on the Disney Channel) conversing with their new "friend", a nine-year-old girl from down the street. Would it seem odd that we're still getting used to having friendly neighbors?
Around the house... Oh boy....well, it's a mess. We moved three weeks ago, need I say more?
One of my favorite things... settling down and making our house a HOME. Nice. VERY nice.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Unpacking and a little more Christmas shopping. Not much left to do, just the teens and the grands.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...two of the little girls snuggled up in their matching little toddler beds...fast asleep! Oh, what sweet solitude, if only for two hours! LOL
Many thanks to Peggy for hosting The Simple Woman's Daybook!

We're "getting there"

This is not going to be anywhere near the blog post I wanted it to be, because my wrist is screaming in pain at me; I've reinjured the tendon (this time I'm pretty sure I've torn it) and I still can't find the splint the doctor had me wearing to immobilize it previously. It's made getting things done slow-going in my estimation; I'm normally one to have every box out of the house within a week, but this time....well, not so much.

There isn't a single "done" room in the house yet, and believe it or not, two weeks after moving day, that drives me bananas. The living room comes close; we still have a couple of boxes of DVD's and VHS tapes (yes, we still have those relics!) that we're going through to weed out the ones we'll never watch again, the ones not worth keeping, and the ones we haven't even taken out of the shrink wrap (Pete is notorious for buying "bargain" movies that end up being forgotten about). I've kept the girls' videos and the series like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars and a couple of others, plus my historical fiction faves (The Patriot, Braveheart, Master and Commander, Pete's WW2 flicks, stuff like that), so we're not totally wiping out our video library, but we are SERIOUSLY cutting back. Why on earth would we keep it all and still pay Netflix every month? Anyway....other than the movies and the lack of anything on the walls, the living room is pretty much put together.

The girls' room (that big, huge bonus room) is coming together slooooowly. This is a new kind of problem for me; we've got more space than we've ever had, and sometimes I get overwhelmed trying to figure out how best to use it all! We do have to finish their closet (right now it's bare studs on one side, unfinished sheet rock on the other) before we can hang their clothes, but I may end up getting a couple of shower curtain rods to hang in the meantime. It's a BIG closet; it oughtta be interesting to try to figure out how best to organize it. We're also still trying to figure out how to set the room-size heat pump to heat...so far, I've only figured out how to make the room colder, and that's a tad unnecessary considering we're already seeing some rather wintery weather already!

The kitchen isn't too far from "done", all things considered. Until we get the built-in microwave working (after sitting vacant for nearly two years, the house was bound to have something that didn't work), our little microwave is on the counter, so....it's sucking up a LOT of counterspace and makes me feel cramped--so it needs to go!

The master bedroom....aside from not having an ensuite bathroom, it's an absolute DREAM! It is quite literally TWICE the size of the largest bedroom we've ever had, and even with a bunch of boxes still in there, we have more than enough space. I'm really loving the king-sized bed (yay for Pete having room to do his nightly fish-flopping without knocking me off the bed!) and having a dresser again! Get this....thanks to Pete's dad wanting to re-do their basement and bringing us their second couch and love seat, we now have a sofa IN our room.....once it's decorated (and the crib is out), it's going to resemble a hotel suite in there! Cool!!!

Okay, my hand has about had it for typing today. Time to go try to knock out a couple more boxes and do some more laundry! I wonder if I can find that camera battery charger today? Hey, anyone in Huntsville know of someone who needs a year-old washer/dryer? Shoot, if anyone wants to come get it, they can have it pretty cheap! We, um, don't need two!